Missing Man Located in Five Minutes Through LBPD’s “Safe Reunion/Long Beach” Program

On Monday, February 13, 2012, at approximately 12:38 p.m., officers from the Long Beach Police Department responded to a residence in the area of First Street and Lime Avenue in regards to a call that an elderly male had wandered away from his home, and had not been found.

Dispatchers determined that the subject had received a free emergency locator bracelet offered by the Long Beach Police Department’s Safe Reunion/Long Beach program. Within five minutes of activating the device, officers located the man on the 1300 block of Broadway, a little more than half a mile away from his home. He was uninjured, and transported back to his home and reunited with his family.

Safe Reunion/Long Beach, a program in partnership with EmFinders and the Long Beach Police Department, is offered to the community to help locate missing loved ones. The program was designed especially for those prone to wander due to cognitive disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, autism, and dementia, and the LBPD has a limited quantity of free bracelets for those to those who qualify. The monthly cost for the 24-hour monitoring service is approximately $25.

The emergency locator system requires the person-at-risk to wear a bracelet, which can be activated after he or she is reported missing. The reporting party must first call the Police and provide necessary information in order to generate a report. The report number is provided to the caller who then provides that to EmFinders via their toll-free number, and EmFinders activates the bracelet. The missing person’s location is then transmitted via cell tower to 9-1-1 dispatchers who can send assistance.

For more information about EmFinders’ EmSeeQ emergency locator system, please visit the company’s website at www.emfinders.com. For more information on the Long Beach Police Department’s Safe Reunion/Long Beach program, please call (562) 570-1436.